SANA'A: Youth groups leading protests to oust Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh called on Gulf Arab states Saturday to withdraw a plan which has failed so far to remove him from power. Yemen's main opposition said Friday the deal, proposed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to end months of unrest, had been modified to allow Saleh to sign as party leader rather than president, a condition that nearly derailed the deal last week. “We call on the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council to stop any initiatives that result in alienating the Yemeni people,” said the groups, under the banner Youth Revolution. “We call on the United States, the European Union and the permanent Security Council members to assume their moral responsibility and stop ... meddling directed against the will of the Yemeni people to ensure freedom and democracy,” the groups said in a statement. Many demonstrators, who include students, tribesmen and activists, have vowed to stay in the streets until Saleh steps down. The plan requires the Yemeni leader to resign 30 days after signing. Critics saw Saleh's refusal to sign as president as a clear sign that the shrewd political survivor had no intention of stepping down quickly. Skeptical opposition leaders said on Friday it appeared the GCC had acceded to demands by the ruling party. But GCC Secretary General Abdul Latif Al-Zayani denied Saturday any change had been made to the plan. Asked in Abu Dhabi if there were any changes to the initiative, Zayani said: “None whatsoever. It is the same GCC initiative. We added the names of people to sign the agreement.”
